Sweet as Tea, Strong as Ginger
by Aurareader
Summary: "They sipped their tea in silence, both staring at each other with happiness and relief..." AaML Advanceshipping Oneshot.


_**This is for the fanfiction contest over at the ADVancers! Check them out on my profile page. Also, try to figure out the theme for this here fic. No Cheating!**_

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She was sweet. Very sweet. Sweet like tea and sugar, but more like tea. He could drink in every detail of her. Her luscious hair, her sweet smile, and her sapphire eyes. He can just get lost in those eyes. They gleamed with determination, but held a kindness no one can rival.

"Ash, are you okay?" He momentarily lost his train of thought as he returned to his senses.

"Yeah, I'm fine, May."

"Really? Are you sure?" she asked. He would melt on the inside from just hearing her melodious voice and the tinge of kindness in it.

"Yeah. Now come on! You're going to be late for the Contest registration!" Maybe, he thought, he caught her kindness? Just for her?

May gasped as the truth dawned on her. She grabbed Ash's hand as they weaved through the busy streets of Celadon City. They dodged shoppers, angry couples, and the occasional Pokémon, as they searched for the Contest Hall.

"Stop…May…The Contest Hall… is right there," Ash said between short breaths.

"Thanks Ash! Love ya!" She ran into the Contest Hall to sign up for the upcoming Contest as Ash's face heated up.

"_She loves…me? She can't really mean it that way, right?" _ But as Ash thought about, his thoughts became clear, she meant love in a friendly way, but maybe he loves her?

"Ash! It's almost time for the contest to start!" He interrupted his thoughts as he entered the Contest Hall, along with May.

"Good luck, May! Not that you need it!" He went to the seats as May went to the waiting room.

***~Transition for random trainers' appeals~***

Lillian went out onto the stage, announcing the next coordinator, May!

"Eevee, your time to shine!"

As soon as she heard her name being called out, she ran out onto the stage and released Eevee. A mammalian creature with brown fur, a bushy tail that has a cream-colored tip, a large furry collar that is also cream-colored and four short, feline-like legs with three small toes on each foot appeared.

"Eevee, use Dig!" The Pokémon dug its way underground, waiting for its trainer to give a command.

"Now, shoot a Shadow Ball into the air!" A hole suddenly appeared as Eevee charged up the Ghost-type move. Suddenly, it shot the purple orb up into the air.

"Jump into the air and use Hidden Power!" The Eevee jumped and expelled orbs of bright white energy from its body. The orbs collided with Shadow Ball, creating a dazzling display of purple and white glitter.

"Finish it off with Swift!" The Pokémon, practicing this appeal many times before, shot several white stars from its mouth. The stars continued as they built up on each other, creating a huge star amidst the purple and white glitter. The Pokémon jumped onto the star as it moved around the stage, taking in the audience's ooh's and aaw's. The star exploded into a burst of sparkles, as Eevee landed safely, taking in the glitter and sparkles.

May bowed as did Eevee and ending with that, they returned back to the waiting room for results. A few appeals later, the wait was over as the judges picked the top four moving onto the battle round.

The results had shown that May was going to the contest, along with Drew (which she never knew was in this contest).

***~Two Random Trainer Battles Later~***

"It's time for the final battle today! We have the first finalist, May with her amazing Bulbasaur!" May came out and took position, ready to face her opponent.

"And her opponent is Drew!" Lillian announced with vigor. She got off the stage as Drew got on.

"Coordinators, send out your Pokémon!"

"Masquerain, come on out!"

"Bulbasaur, do your best!"

"Masquerain," yelled Drew as the timer started, "use Stun Spore and Silver Wind!"

Masquerain sent out yellow spores, which was soon blown away towards Bulbasaur's direction by a silvery colored wind. Bulbasaur just stood there and took the damage. He began to have bits of electricity around him, signifying he was paralyzed.

"Ooh, May's points took a dive from that beautiful and super effective attack!"

May's eyebrows furled, as she faced the Pokémon that will barely take any damage from Grass-Type attacks. Still, she had to try.

"Bulbasaur, use Poisonpowder and Magical Leaf!" The said Pokémon released a purple powder from its bulb on its back before also releasing multi-colored leaves. The multi-colored leaves took on a purple glow as it started dissolving into many colors by the poison. The leaves then chased after Masquerain, leaving brightly colored splotches on it. It then grunted in pain as it took damage from the poison.

"And May fights back with that combo!"

Drew just shook his hair as he gave out another command. "Masquerain, blow it away with Gust!"

The Bug and Flying type surround itself in a small tornado as it blew away the sludge and resumed to attack Bulbasaur with the Flying-type move.

"And again, Drew sends out another super effective attack!" Lillian announced as May's points grew less and less.

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!" The grass-type didn't do anything as an electric current ran through the body.

Drew smirked. "Masquerain, end this with Aerial Ace!" The Pokémon flew, gaining momentum, before slashing Bulbasaur with the super-effective move.

Bulbasaur laid there, motionless, trying to get back up, before finally collapsing with swirls in its eyes.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle! Drew wins!"

May returned her Pokémon as did Drew, before the closing ceremony commenced. A few minutes later, May left and sensing this, Ash followed her.

Soon, he found her on a park bench, but before he could come any closer, he heard Drew talking to her.

"You need more technique. Your strategy was worthless against a Pokémon who was super-effective against your Grass-type. Train your Pokémon some more. I took you out in like, what, two minutes?"

May just nodded her head. Drew left and when she could no longer see him, she began sobbing herself to death.

Ash, hearing this, revealed himself in front of May.

"May, I'm here for you."

May stopped crying for a moment before seeing Ash in front of her. She wished that she could be as strong as him. He rarely lost a battle and could easily get out of a tough situation by thinking clearly. And even when he did, he just learned from his mistakes and tried again. She even tried to mimic his battle style, but couldn't. She wanted to be strong as Ash. He was strong…, like ginger. She would train for hours on end, hoping to get strong as Ash or at least near as strong. From that moment, she decided to not cry about her losses, but practice from her mistakes like Ash. She would be like Ash. Strong as ginger.

"May, I think that you did very well in that battle. It was just that your Pokémon was at a type disadvantage. However, you remained calm and cool in the heat of the moment, so that means something, right?"

May blinked away the tears and just nodded.

"Look, if it means anything. I think that you're a really great coordinator. You love and care for your Pokémon and they love you back. And you have great friends to support you, especially me. Now, I meant to say this but I didn't know the right moment so here it goes."

May's ears perked up as she longed for the words to come out of his lips and into her ears. Three words, eight letters. Something she hoped for her crush to say for a long time now.

"I realized that I like you very much. More than a friend. I think I even love you."

May's heart exploded with the thought that her best friend turned crush loves her and she loves him too.

"May, it's okay if you don't feel the same wa-" He was quickly silenced by a kiss from the once previously sad coordinator. The kiss was brief but had feelings in it. Love, happiness, longing, and fireworks.

"I love you too, Ash."

They sat by each other, on the park bench, just enjoying the moment they had with each other. A growl interrupted the silence.

"Well, I'm hungry. You wanna get something to eat?"

May nodded and she dragged him to a ramen shop where the smell there was fantastic. Exotic spices mingled in the air with the scent of the broth.

As they sat down, they looked through the menu for something to drink. Something to signify their new relationship. Their eyes locked down on the tea section and they grinned simultaneously.

When the waitress asked for their drinks, they simply looked at each other and said the same thing.

"Ginger tea, please."

Two cups arrived along with the tea kettle as the waitress took their ramen orders. As the waitress left, May poured tea into the two cups before they cheered and drank.

The tea was as strong as ginger, but yet sweet as regular sweetened tea. The ginger complemented the tea and vice versa. They sipped their tea in silence, both staring at each other with happiness and relief, for when you have a love as sweet as tea and strong as ginger, you have nothing to worry about.

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_**Yeah… I know… Probably OOC in some parts, but still it was so kawaii! I loved how the story turned out actually! Well, it would be great to leave reviews and all just to make my day!**_

_**Bye! Thanks for reading!**_

_**\(^U^)**_

_**-Aurareader**_


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